A Rose That Never Goes Away
by mystrymist
Summary: The girl that was on the beach with the Other Doctor was not the real Rose. She was my clone. When no one was paying attention, it was my clone that was trapped in the Crucible. It was my clone that was there with the big gun that ran to The Doctor when he ran towards "me". I was there, watching everything as it happened. He was going to need me, so I stowed away on the TARDIS.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1:**

After he dropped Donna off and returned to the TARDIS, he was the most distraught I have yet to see him. He was all alone. The loneliness he felt must have been very strong because he didn't rest one wink. He paced more than usual. I wanted to comfort him, but every time I put my hand on my door, I remember my mission. He must have been like this after Doomsday. He will be fine. He doesn't need me yet. In his 900 plus years I was certain this wasn't the first time he had to say goodbye to all his companions. However, I doubt he ever had to do what he did with Donna and "me" before.

Though I knew I was not to make direct contact, when he finally would go to his chambers I would go into the console room and tidy up a little. Then I would dash back to my room before he could find me there. It probably baffled him, but for all he knows, the TARDIS has learned how to clean herself up a bit. I do it so he doesn't feel too alone. His TARDIS always has been here for him. When I looked into the heart of the TARDIS all those years ago I saw how much she cared for him. Sometimes he forgets that she has always been there. I guess it's hard for him to remember because she is a spaceship. She knew I was here though, and she understood why I was here.

One day we landed into the Victorian era on Christmas Eve. A smile crept onto my face as I remembered the Christmas he spent with us after the Sycorax invasion. It was then that I swore to myself that no matter what happened, I would never leave his side. Even though I ended up in a parallel world, I still managed to pop up to try and alert him of the Dalek invasion, and he never saw it, I never completely deserted him. He ran out as he usually does when he fancies a place he lands, which is everywhere. I ventured out of my room and went to the main room.

"Hey old girl, how are yah?" I asked the TARDIS like we were old friends.

Suddenly the screen on the control panel blinked and showed me pictures of a man who was called Jackson Lake and what happened to him. That wasn't what got me though. It was the Cybermen that were trying to take over London, again. My fists clenched at my side, it was their fault I got trapped in another world in the first place.

"Is the Doctor going to be okay when he faces them?" I tore my eyes away from the screen and looked up and around at the spaceship.

I knew the answer though. When he found the lost Jackson with his companion Rosita he would have all the help he could possibly need. I smiled as I ran to my room and changed into some more time appropriate clothes, so that I wouldn't appear naked to the locals, when I emerged out again there was a necklace on the door, _perception filter necklace. Perfect._ I put it on as I ran out of the TARDIS, not before thanking her for the necklace and lurked about Victorian, London.

Suddenly I heard the sound of the Doctor shouting at someone, or something. I followed the familiar and heartwarming sound of his voice. I was just in time to see him getting pulled by a rope through an upper story window. Rosita was dashing into the building with an axe. _Good thinking._ I on the other hand ran around to the other side of the building. _God, how did women run around in these corsets?_ When I got there a Cyberman/dog creature was clambering out the third floor window. I looked around for anything I could use as a weapon. Not finding anything particularly useful, I opted for running after it. It hopped into the driver's seat of a cab, and I swiftly jumped onto the back of the carriage, hanging on for dear life as the horses thundered down the road. The carriage went down many side streets, avoiding any people that would notice the strange looking driver would be my guess, we went past a graveyard where a few Cybermen were approaching a funeral procession. I got off the cab and ran behind a tree to get a better look at the situation, the fast falling snow also helped to hide me from view.

A woman in a red dress lead the Cybermen. _That is odd, never has a Cyberman followed a human's orders._ She signaled for them to halt as she approached the men mourning the death of a colleague. She spoke to them with an underlying tone of disgust and superiority. _Someone's power hungry_, I thought, _and a bit of an insane feminist._ Suddenly the Cybermen were attacking the men, most of those who were gathered were killed except for a few who were given the earpieces that allowed them to be controlled by the Cybermen. It was difficult for me to not take action, but if I exposed myself that would be too high of a gamble. I can't die here, my Doctor needs me alive, even though he doesn't even know I am here.

The four men stood in a uniform line and marched behind Miss Hartigan, with the Cybermen behind them. I was torn between following them and trying to find The Doctor. I ran in the opposite direction and went the square. There was naught I could do in this situation. So I milled about trying to blend in, waiting for either more Cybermen or The Doctor. Whichever came first. It was very quiet though. Like the calm before a storm.

Almost too soon the sun set and the night dominated the sky. It was early into Christmas Day. A stampede of children were running away from through the streets with terror stricken on all their innocent faces. Several people, including myself ran to see what the commotion was all about. A giant Cyberman rose out of the water like a giant metal beanstalk. Though it was not like any other Cyberman I have ever seen, it looked like there was a big open window. It looked like that woman Miss Hartigan sitting on a throne of some sort with a bunch of Cybermen standing around her. It was hard to see from the ground. Then she spoke, something along the lines of everyone going to be ruled by the Cyberking They started shooting lasers out of it's wrist causing people to panic. We all tried to run, but then it stopped. Then a balloon rose in front of the giant Cyberman robot. I looked up to see The Doctor give them one last chance to stop. Then he aimed a beam of high condensed energy at Miss Hartigan. Then the energy dissipated. Several moments later the faint sound of her screaming trickled down for all of us to hear, and then they were all gone. Right as the giant robot started to fall, the Time Vortex streamed out of the balloon and it dissapeared. Then Jackson Lake stood before everyone and started applauding the man that saved all of our lives. When everyone started clapping and cheering, The Doctor looked down, and for a moment I think he looked in my direction, but then he looked away, thanks to the perception filter. After that I ran as fast as I could back to the TARDIS so I could hide in my room. Fortunately balloons take a long time to get back down to Earth.

I almost didn't make it under the his radar, I barely made it into the corrider connecting to the main room when I heard Jackson and The Doctor come in. I pressed myself against the wall to make sure that I wouldn't be noticed. Then as quickly as they entered, they left and I heard Jackson demand that The Doctor dine with him and his son and Rosita. _Way to go Jackson._ And then I ran to my room.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2:**

Several hours later he returned from his holiday dinner with the Lakes. Though he sounded happy, I could hear the sadness in his voice. _The last time he did that was with me, mum, and Mickey._ While he was gone I decorated the TARDIS a little bit for holidays.

"Where did this tree come from?" He asked the seemingly empty TARDIS.

The TARDIS hummed a little bit in response.

"That is a very nice trick, you old girl. Merry Christmas." He said to the time machine, though I am quite certain he doesn't know what she said.

I smiled all the same. The TARDIS was on my side. She was going to help me help The Doctor. It was good to know that I had an ally on the inside. I was going to need a lot of help to protect my Doctor when the time comes. I thanked her silently while I lay in my bed.

Suddenly the door to my room was opening, all I could do was roll out on the far side of the bed as silently as I could. When I hit the floor I crawled under the bed.

I peeked out through the bed skirt to see what the daft alien was doing.

"Merry Christmas Rose, wherever you may be." He slowly looked around the room, his voice laden with longing and sorrow. "I never treated you the way you deserved to be. Took your presence for granted."

My eyes went wide. Every ounce of my being wanted to pop out from where I hid and comfort him. It was a Herculean effort to stay where I was.

He sighed as he stepped over the entryway and strode across toward the bed and sat on it. He was so skinny that he hardly made a dent in the mattress. His long legs reached the floor though and I could see his off white sneakers.

"I know you are probably happy with the Other Doctor. But I wish you were here with me. I should have said this a long time ago. Rose Tyler, I... ugh. I'm talking to air. Going to that holiday party was a terrible idea. I could sense her there. Wishful thinking. Ha, look at that. The more time I spend on this planet the more I act like them. Oh, Rose. What did you do to me? I am nothing more than half the man I once was." He stood up and slowly paced around the room.

His large hands were in his soft chestnut brown hair. He was the most attractive man I ever met. Though he has worn many faces. It don't matter though. He had my heart the moment we watched the Earth get swallowed by the sun. Although he is not in a state of grace, he is in such a delicate state of mind. He was the loneliest man in the universe. And that made him vulnerable at the same time it makes him the most dangerous man in the universe. If anyone crossed him now, the best of luck to them. The Doctor may not be the most violent person, but his great prowess in peaceful warfare will make one regret ever meeting him. Like when he faced down The Master in the year that never was. When The Doctor gets determined to do something, it is nearly impossible to stop him. Soon he will do just that. It is why I am here. I am here to stop him from doing something that he will regret.

The pacing around the room and ruffling his hair in an agitated manner calmed him down eventually. Maybe he was a little too calm with a little bit of longing mixed in, because he returned to the bed and fell asleep. There was not much I could do in this situation. If this was any other situation I would have made a run for it while he was sleeping, but he is a light sleeper. And he can't know that I am here. Eventually I also went to sleep, but I kept myself on high alert, just in case.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3:**

Somehow The Doctor never found out that I was hiding out under my bed that night. He had woken up and left the room in the middle of the night. I dared not leave from my position, in case he came back. It went on like this for a few days. Except he didn't come back to my room, thank goodness. His mind seemed to be far away. Farther away than I ever remembered before back when I was traveling with him, and that's saying something. Once I stepped into the console room when he was staring blankly at the turquoise engine. I wasn't thinking at the time. And my mouth opened of its own accord, words were about to come out, but then he started to turn around. Suddenly I remembered why I was there and what I was doing and I ran as fast as I could, hoping against hope he didn't see me.

Apparently I wasn't fast enough because he shouted out, "Who's there?" And I could hear him run after me.

I dared not slow down. My heart was racing faster than a race car. My nerves were firing faster than a machine gun and my stomach was in more knots than a sailor could tie. I needed to hide. The only problem was, this was The Doctor's TARDIS. He knew nearly every crook and cranny even granted its massive size. It was only a matter of minutes, nay, seconds before he caught up to me. Unless the TARDIS, whilst on auto-pilot decided to go haywire as it usually does.

"Now would be nice for a bit of help old girl." I whispered so quietly I wasn't even sure I said it out loud.

I could hear him gaining. "Whoever you are, I will find you! If you reveal yourself I will go easier on you." Panicked thoughts ran through my mind as I kept running down different corridors. Even though if he saw it was me he probably would just have a dumbfound expression on his adorable face and try to make sense out of seeing me, it still would be very, very bad.

At that moment the TARDIS landed with a resounding bang throughout the ship.

"When I get back and you are still on board this ship, you will be in a load of trouble whoever, or whatever you are." Then his footsteps ran in the opposite direction.

Even though I was safe from being discovered, I kept running a little further. I paused long enough to open a door and go inside. Only once the door was securely shut, did I stop to catch my breath. I leaned against the cool metal door and slid all the way down til I was sitting on the floor. I looked up to find that I was in his giant outfit closet. _CRAP! He is probably going to come in here any second no matter where he lands. _I scrambled onto my feet, not wanting to risk going into the hallway in case he was coming, I climbed the spiral staircase and dove clambered inside a tall blue wardrobe and hid behind a giant banana costume, _seriously what is it with The Doctor and bananas_.

Just then, as I predicted, The Doctor opened the door, and was rambling to himself. "Oh the planet of Nahar! It has been ages since I last visited! I wonder if Fazoni is still the king? His son, Vihali still owes me from when we played Xoth-Llachee a few hundred years ago... I need to get that banana costume then. The citizens of this planet aren't bright if they haven't noticed that I am just a man in a banana costume, not an actual walking talking fruit like them."

My eyes went wide. _Just my luck._ Well that explains the banana costume. As quietly as I could I scooted over to hide behind a gorilla costume. _I don't even want to know._ And curled into a ball and hoped he would be lost in his conversation to even notice.

"The Pepsodidiums are such nice people though. And funny. I have yet to see any species that could top their humor. At the same time they are incredibly nosy. They're worse than the Xzonta. And they're noses!" He opened the door to the closet and I held my breath. He paused as he reached for the banana suit. "I swear someone has touched my costume! It's hanging in a slightly different way."

My heart was beating faster than the wings of a hummingbird. I honestly had no idea how he could not hear it. I had my hands covering my mouth as it was so that he couldn't hear my labored breathing.

"Well." He squeaked. "Probably because of the TARDIS's _amazing_ landing abilities. Anyway, where was I? Ah yes, to the land of the fruit people!" He finally grabbed his outrageously fruity suit and left.

_If something like this happens again, I swear I am going to have a heart attack. _When I was certain that the coast was clear, and when I felt brave enough, I clambered out of the cabinet.

"Is it safe for me to go back to my room?" I whispered out loud to the TARDIS.

She hummed in confirmation and I crept cautiously all the way to my room and went to sleep under my bed again.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4:**

Since that very close almost encounter, I decided to stay away from the console room. And the rest of the TARDIS for that matter without checking with her to make sure that I wouldn't get caught. A month has gone by since then. And for the first time since Christmas he finally decided to land in England. To be more precise he landed in the gutters by Buckingham Palace. It was Easter Sunday and The Doctor was very excited. He was rarely on Earth for that holiday. He all but skipped out of the TARDIS and did his own thing. I knew what was going to happen today. This is when he goes on another bus ride that ends up being more than he bargained for. At least this time the humans on the bus didn't think about throwing anyone overboard.

Regardless, I decided to venture out into the city and wandered into various shops. This was one adventure I couldn't sneak onto. But there was something I could do for him. Today will be the day he has his fate delivered to him. He won't need me just quite yet, but that day is going to be very, very soon. He will be extremely distraught when he returns to the TARDIS tonight. The most I can do is try to soften the blow. First I had to get a few things. I didn't have any money that would work here, but that was hardly an issue. I pulled out my sonic eyeliner and went to an ATM and got enough for the things I needed to buy.

The first shop I went into was a supplier of electronic devices. I managed to buy a portable radio and a headset. I popped into the loo to sonic the device so I could tap into UNIT's communication devices. That way I could figure out how much time I had to do what I needed to do, and in case there was a dire emergency concerning The Doctor. Then I went into a shop to buy some decorations. Once I was done with the shopping, I made a few phone calls. That out of the way, I returned to the TARDIS and started organizing everything.

As soon as all the decorations were in the right place she went to the console. From what I overheard on the radio, UNIT was just arriving at the tunnel where the bus that The Doctor was on disappeared into. _Good, plenty of time. Or rather, I can just jump a little bit into the time stream._

"Alright old girl, can you get yourself into the bed of a truck in a few hours time?" I asked the TARDIS.

She hummed in confirmation and the engine started whirring. "Make sure you don't attract too much attention."

I went to my bathroom and dug around the cabinets looking for my special mirror. _Found it! It's still here after all this time!_ Back in the day when I was a companion, during one of our adventures we went to this place that sold magic mirrors that would show you your heart's desire. Naturally I got one. Now it was time for me to use it. I walked into my bedroom and sat on the bed with my back against the wall.

"Show me The Doctor." I demanded, and it showed The Doctor flying a bus and getting ready to drive through the wormhole. "Okay old girl, you should make yourself appear in the back of the truck now."

The engines stopped whirring as I watched The Doctor fly out on the other side, Earth side. I smiled, _way to go Doctor._ The worry in my mind couldn't settle down yet though, some of the metal sting rays of death and destruction that were chasing them made it through before the wormhole completely closed. UNIT was firing at them with guns. _That won't work._ Suddenly lasers were being shot at the metal aliens of doom from somewhere out of the night sky, but, obviously, it wasn't the Doctor shooting them. _That will work. Great job guys._

The Doctor landed the bus and everyone climbed out with smiles bright as the sun. He did his rounds, hugging Malcom, telling the UNIT captain to take two of the bus passengers, and then he went to talk to the couple that was on the bus. He was all smiles, but then Carmen told him his fate. "He will knock four times." I couldn't bear to watch. His face which was all bright from another adventure going well to a grave face only I have ever seen. It was worse than his expression when he had to say goodbye as a hologram on the beach. And I could tell he was trying not to cry then. Now he is just trying to keep himself calm as he processes the fact that he is going to die soon. Tears started to fall from my face. _Not if I can do something about it._ I wiped the tears away with the back of my hand and pulled out my mobile. There was a message I had typed up earlier waiting to be sent. I hit the send button. Then I watched the mirror anxiously. Christina had already flown off in the bus to go on her own adventure, and escape going to jail. The Doctor was about to climb into the TARDIS, when suddenly, out of the sky a pterodactyl swooped down and landed right next to the police box.

It only stayed grounded for a few seconds before taking off, revealing Captain Jack Harkness, being, well, Captain Jack Harkness. The Doctor looked shocked to see him.

"Did you miss me?" Jack asked all smiles at his old friend.

"Where the bloody hell did you get a pterodactyl?" The Doctor let out a ragged laughed as he hugged Jack.

"Long story. Why didn't you tell me you were in town? It would have been like old times." Jack said a bit wistfully.

"Wait, but you work out of the Torchwood in Cardiff. This is London. You knew I was here. Who told you?" The Doctor asked, raising his eyebrow in a way that always made me swoon inwardly.

Right as Jack was about to answer, a helicopter flew overhead and two parachutists jumped out and started to drift down to the ground. They both looked up, curious to see who it was. In about a minute Martha and Mickey both landed in front of The Doctor and Jack. This time both of The Doctor's eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"Okay, first Jack. Now Martha and Mickey Mouse. Jack is more explainable than you two. What is going on?"

"Nice to see you too Doctor." Mickey fist bumped The Doctor.

"We just wanted to visit London today, and then we heard the TARDIS, so we decided to see if you were around." Martha smiled innocently as she hugged The Doctor.

The Doctor looked at each of them quizzically, "Will one of you tell me what is going on? I am not in a mood for surprises right now. Last time I saw either of you was after the Dalek invasion. Believe me when I say I am thrilled to see familiar faces, but why the hell are you all here?"

"Does there have to be a reason why we are strangely all in the same place? Let's just say someone is watching over you and told us you needed your friends. Before you have a brain aneurysm from over-thinking let's go in the TARDIS for old time's sake." Reasonable Martha reasoned.

Before he could say anything, Jack and Mickey grabbed either of The Doctor's arms and forcibly dragged him into the TARDIS. Where The Doctor's jaw went slack at the various decorations I had spent hanging or blowing up. There were multicoloured aluminium balloons floating or tied to rails to prevent them from floating too high. Blue, gold, and orange paper streamers were pasted to the turquoise engine and console. The walls were painted a happy, yet calming, pistachio green colour and the coral beams had garlands of tropical flowers, mixed in with a few pink and yellow roses thrown in there as a subtle message that he probably won't think about, wrapped around them.

I smiled proudly as they took in my handiwork. Although everyone but The Doctor knew what was going on. Apparently it was so much for him to take in that The Doctor had to sit down in his chair, which was a warm brown leather rolling chair which I replaced with his old plastic white chair. As soon as he sat down he jumped up and stared at it with eyes as wide as saucers. Then he looked at the walls more closely. There were hanging photographs, in simple but nice frames, of all of his past companions. Not just from this generation, but several others from past generations. I saw his eyes pause for a second on Donna's picture, but then he completely stopped when he saw my picture. As if he was unable to stop himself, he walked up to it, not realizing that everyone was watching. His arm went up and his fingers gently, slowly, touched the picture. His eyes softening in affection and pain. I did the same thing to the mirror. Thankfully the mirror can't transport me to the scene that is being displayed. He closed his eyes for a second, trying to compose himself, and then turned around with a happy smile on his face.

"Thank you guys for doing all of this. You didn't have to." The Doctor hugged each of his friends in turn.

A different side of Jack was present today, he wasn't being his flamboyant self, his Boe side was showing. "Like Martha said earlier, you are being watched out for. It's neither one of us. But someone out there is. They just want you safe and happy. We don't know how, but we only know why. No one should be alone when they are given their marching orders."

They all looked at Jack shocked at his moment of sensitivity.

"How did you know about that?" Mr. Suspicious asked. "I just found out ten minutes ago."

"Look, lets forget about the sad stuff. We are here to throw you a party. If you want to be all Mr. Grumpy Pants, go ahead, that won't stop us from having fun." Mickey jabbed his index finger at The Doctor.

I smiled. Then I realized I forgot something. I grabbed the remote control that I had put on my bed and pressed the red button then returned my attention to the mirror. A few toy helicopters emerged from the hallway, leading into the kitchen, holding large pizzas in trays, into the console room. Once again The Doctor's eyes went wide.

"How did that happen? These are remote controlled toys! Which means..." The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver and started to sonic one of the choppers.

I immediately pulled out my sonic eyeliner and pointed it at the remote so it wouldn't be traceable.

"A sonic device is trying to intercept my tracking!" The Doctor exclaimed. "And it's coming from somewhere in this ship. How? Who? Where? … Its coming from..." He stopped and looked puzzled. "That's not possible. How could it be coming from Rose's room?" His eyes went wide again, this time full of hope.

While he was busy rambling, the others were looking at each other with concern on their face. They knew, it wasn't time for him to know that I was here. He doesn't quite need me yet. I broke the remote and took the broken pieces in one hand. The mirror was in my other hand, and I just hopped off my bed and started running out of my room, as far away from the console room as possible. I turned the sound off on the mirror so that it wouldn't get amplified in the hallways, and accidentally draw more attention. I opened a door at random and closed it. _The Doctor's room. Great place to hide, Rose_. I actually had never been in this room.

There were a lot of closet doors and then there was a strange golden door on one end of the room. Forgetting that I was trying to hide, my curiosity overshadowed any other thought. I quickly crossed the room and pulled on the heavy door. My jaw dropped. It was a shrine. About me. As much as I was flattered, I remembered that I had to hide, so I went inside the very spacious shrine and hid behind a poster board covered in pictures of me and him holding hands and hearts drawn around them in red marker.

The door closed of its own accord, and I returned my attention to the mirror again. Jack and Mickey were trying to get him to party instead of trying to trace the signal. Hopefully he won't be able to trace it since I broke the remote. The Doctor had finally reached my room, he opened it, and it was empty. Of course. Not only was it empty, it was walled up. The TARDIS had put up a cement wall in the door frame.

The Doctor looked at the floor dejectedly, and returned to the console room with his shoulders slumped. Martha handed him a banana daiquiri, hoping to lift his spirits with his favorite drink. He smiled at Martha as he accepted it, but the smile didn't reach his eyes. _He actually was hoping to see me._ I sighed as I gazed longingly at the mirror. _One of these days my Doctor, my dear friend, we shall be reunited, but not under ideal circumstances. Until then, be happy, for me._

The TARDIS created a door in the wall behind me, I opened it and it was my room. With no cement wall. I smiled and thanked her as I strode back inside it and sat on my bed. The Doctor was inhaling banana daiquiri after banana daiquiri. The poor man has been through a lot today. Ordinarily I would have been irate with him, but under the circumstances, I let it slide. The party went on for several hours. I think Jack put more rum than bananas in the Gallifreyan's favorite drink. The poor sod was getting crazier and dancing with everyone. At one point he put his hand down Jack's pants, upon _The Doctor's_ insistence. Finally the party ended and Mickey and Jack dragged the unconscious drunk alien to his room. I smiled, turned off the mirror, and went to sleep knowing that my Doctor was going to be okay, for now.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5:**

I woke with a start in my bed. _Too many daiquiris._ I massaged my temples with one hand, trying to coax the migraine to go away. A very distinct smell was wafting from my hand, I gave it a whiff and immediately ran to the bathroom to wash it as thoroughly as I possibly could. _Jack fluids. Bloody hell! What happened last night?_ Washing whatever germs may be on my hand in the sink wouldn't be enough to get rid of anything. I hopped in the shower and tried to make sense of last night.

"How in the bloody hell did they know I was there?I wasn't anywhere near where either of them worked. They all said that someone is watching over me and making sure that I am okay. What or who are they talking about? Donna has no memory of me, Martha and Mickey are working for UNIT in various parts of the world so they hardly have time in their schedules to check up on me, Jack is busy with Torchwood, Rose... Rose is stuck in a parallel world happily with the Metacrisis Doctor, Sarah Jane Smith is busy raising her son, there is no one else."Just saying Rose's name made me pause while I was scrubbing my hair. _I can't let myself get too hopeful. _With a frustrated groan, I got out of the shower and wrapped a towel around my waist.

When I reemerged back into my bedroom, I glanced briefly at my golden gilded special closet before going to my dresser to grab my clothes. _I am long overdue for a vacation. _Away _from humans. _

"Why did I ever get involved with humans? They're just simpleminded, completely useless, helpless, nosy, noisy, stinky, selfish, hopeless, ungrateful creatures. I could have picked any planet in all of space to consider my second home, of all places why did I choose Earth? There are plenty of better planets that would be more grateful and useful when it came down to it." Without even realizing it, I had crossed the room and opened the shiny metallic doors.

When I finally was aware of myself, I was kneeling in front of a pedestal that had a small black velvet box on a big red pillow. My lacrimal glands were threatening to overflow with a clear fluid. Humans call it crying. _I am not a human!_ _I am a Time Lord of Gallifrey! I shouldn't have any of their characteristics. _

I gazed at the innocent box regretfully. _The bloody Cybermen and Daleks this is all their fault. If it wasn't for them, Rose would still be here. And she might even have been my wife. I was a daft fool to not tell her how I felt. I thought I had all the time in the world. Of all people, I should know that everything has its time and place. She is gone, and it is all my fault. There is no one to blame but me. I waited to long to tell her. I had many opportunities to tell her how I felt. And each time I could, I didn't. _I forced myself out of the small room that I considered sacred. I went to the console room with guilt and shame weighing down on my hearts.

Against Jack, Martha, and Mickey's best efforts to make put me at ease; my weary mind was still reeling from Carmen's cryptic message. _"Doctor, you take care now." "You too. Chops and Gravy, lovely!" "No. But you be careful because your song is ending, sir." "What do you mean?" "It is returning, it is returning through the dark. And then, Doctor... Oh but then, he will knock four times." _I placed my hands on the edge of the console and closed my eyes. Everything was going fine that day, until that conversation. _"I think your song must end soon." Ood Sigma said. "Meaning?" "Every song must end." The fact that two people, two very different creatures have told me very similar messages can't mean anything good. It means that I am going to die soon._ I opened my eyes and looked up.

"I don't want to go yet! There is too much that I need to do that I haven't done yet! There are so many people I have yet to meet and species to discover. People who will need me. Oh to be needed by someone. Anyone. Anything to keep my mind busy. I can't handle the vast cavern of emotions that threaten to bring me down with every waking moment. And every unconscious moment at that. Everywhere I go, _she_ is there in my mind." I blindly looked around the room, until my eyes settled on the photograph of Rose. It was from when we visited New Earth. She was lying on the apple grass with her eyes looking dreamily at the camera. Her golden blonde hair was covering a bit of her face. And her smile, it was the smile of a girl who was fully alive and enjoying life. It was a smile that lit up my world. Everything she did made me forget about the monster I once was. Now I fear that with everyone gone, I am going to slip back and become the man that harbored destruction, not once thinking about the consequences that will follow. Before Rose, I didn't care who got hurt. As long as I made it out on top, nothing mattered. Then I met her and she fixed me. After the Time War I was more shattered and broken than broken glass. Her kind heart and her trust in me helped put the pieces back together. Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall above everyone, but then he fell and with the force at which he fell and hit the ground made him break beyond repair. No king or kings-men could revive him. His state was beyond repairable. Until an angel with golden hair came down and showed him that there was more to life than being above everything. I was so alone, and she gave me so much. And I owe her so much.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N This is the last chapter! Just a warning, it gets dark and kinda sad. This chapter follows a bit loosely the events that happen during "Water of Mars" and you know how that episode is. I hope you have enjoyed this fic :)**

**The asterisks just mean its switching POV**

*****disclaimer**** I own nothing and I used direct quotes from the episode.**

**Chapter 6:**

The TARDIS landed on the fourth planet in the solar system. Sometimes people call it the red planet, and most refer to it as Mars. I prefer to call it the place where the Doctor lost himself. My Doctor has been traveling for several years all by his lonesome since the invasion of the Daleks. One wouldn't think that the confident, wise, brave, selfless, brilliant Time Lord could lose himself over such a trivial issue as being alone. The truth of the matter is that it is in his friends that he finds strength to carry on. His companions being mere humans when they first meet him don't realize how greatly we impact his life as he does with ours. But it's true. We are all he has left. His people of the planet Gallifrey perished years ago to end the last great time war against the Daleks. The weight on his shoulders was more than any person should have to bear. The weight of the fate of his kind is made worse because he is the reason why they perished along with his home planet as a last resort. All of this guilt has been stored and building up this whole time. On top of the aftermath of the Dalek invasion and having a psychic foretell his doom, he was bound to lose it eventually. It just ended up happening on Mars. At a fixed point in time. Where the Doctor had no business being in the first place. But that is usually how all his adventures begin. Now that I am here, I can change the fate's design and bring back what I once lost; because sometimes, if you are really lucky, time can be rewritten. And it is high time that someone saved the Doctor instead of him saving everyone else. Even if it means saving him from himself.

My name is Rose Tyler. And this is the story of how I saved The Doctor. The Doctor set the coordinates for Mars and the Tardis complied, because she is after all, a ship and most of the time she brings the Doctor where he is needed, this one time she granted the Doctor a day off. There is little that the Tardis doesn't know. But this time, she was wrong. It isn't her fault. There was no way she could predict what the Doctor would do when he got there. No one could predict that the Doctor would go mad. We all knew that he was a whacky alien. But we didn't know he would completely fly off the handles. He was usually in control and reserved when he came close, so no one, not even I knew. Until now. The Doctor was always full of surprises. And today was no exception.

He put on his orange spacesuit, opened the door, and stepped onto the red space rock. "Mars!" He exclaimed excitedly. "The red planet!" As he explored the seemingly barren planet. I watched him from the door until he vanished from view.

It is never pleasant knowing how something is going to happen. A lot of the time there is nothing you can do, like in a book, or in a parallel universe like I was. Other times it requires a lot of effort and you almost miss your opportunity to help someone, but then you get a second wind and with every ounce of your being and save the one you really care about, like when I was in the game station and the Doctor, in his ninth generation, sent me home. I didn't give up then. And I am not going to give up now. To be honest, I don't know what I am going to do. I didn't expect to make it this far. But I did. And now I need to come up with a plan. Before the Doctor accidentally taps into the Oncoming Storm and does something he will regret.

With several jumps and a hop I came across what appeared to be a human campground on Mars. _Scientists! Must be!"_ I thought gleefully. I always enjoy meeting space geeks. Though I end up being more like an exhibit at a museum than their equal because they figure out that I am an alien. And well humans are naturally very nosy when it comes to creatures that are not like them. Then again I am like that too, so all is fair in that aspect.

Naturally I really wanted to go down there and snoop about to see what these humans were doing on Mars. It can't be that too far in the future, since there is only one big dome attached to four other smaller domes. Still the 21st century then. I was at war with whether or not to venture down there. After what Carmen said about my song ending soon made me more hesitant to explore anywhere with people, human or otherwise. I am very content with this life. This is the first time in a very long while since I felt like I have actually lived. All thanks to my companions. With Rose I was able to let my hearts... never mind. Martha saved my life countless times when I was helpless to everyone. Thanks to her I was able to get over the events where I lost Rose... Jack, well Jack is Jack. Though his very existence is very wrong, and he is very amicable, he took my black and white world and painted it with bright colors even when everything's falling apart. Mickey never gave up the fight, whether it was for Rose or against the Cybermen in the parallel world. Sarah Jane Smith, we had an amazing history together and I will never forget her, even after all these years and after I left her behind she stays loyal. And Donna Noble. Saved the world and can't remember. She made sure I was on the straight and narrow. Made me act with more humanity than I would ever dare if I were on my own. I am no where ready to give up this life just yet. And if I cross the threshold of that facility, I could risk all of that. What if some other planet needs me while I am here? What if I... No nothing bad will happen. If things start to get sour, I can just go back to the TARDIS. My impulse to explore is stronger than my sense of preservation. With my mind made up, I made my way to the station.

I know he deserves a break as anyone does. If anyone needs one, he definitely ranks number one on that list. But of all places to visit, it has to be here. I knew it was going to happen, but that makes it all the worse for me. It hurts to know that my Doctor is going to do something reckless. More reckless than usual that is. I paced the console room of the TARDIS trying to think of how I should do this. _Should I go after him now and stop him? I want him to have a little bit of fun while he's here. At one point does he draw the line? When? How? Ugh, this isn't working. _Then an idea popped into my brain. Actually the TARDIS put an idea into my head.

"I can't do that again! You know what happened last time!"

She hummed a response.

"I can do that? I mean you can do that? Will I be able to control it?"

The TARDIS sent a visual image, instructing me how to do it.

"Will I remember after? That is the important thing. And will it save him? He won't have to do what he did last time?"

She confirmed in the affirmative.

"Let's do it."

It was a very bad decision to stay here. There is something in the water that is making the crew who touch it mutate. Adelaide is interrogating me, not letting me leave. _I really should just go, right now._ But something was keeping me here. _"Just save someone," Donna begged._ I shook my head, at both Adelaide's inquiry and at the memory.

"I really can't. I have to go." Sympathy and pity was how that carried out.

Adelaide stared daggers at me, telling me that I better give her an answer. "You don't look like a coward."

_I really shouldn't be having this conversation right now. If I don't leave now, I could break the rules. This is a fixed point in time. I have no right to be here._ Against my better judgment I explained what happens today. She didn't even blink. When I told her that she goes to strategy five, she looked defiant.

"Help me. Why won't you help, Doctor, if you know all of this? Why can't you change it?" She asked in desperation on the other side of the screen.

I looked away, not able to stand the guilt that she was causing. "I'm Sorry but I can't. Sometimes I can. Sometimes I do. Most times I can save someone. Or anyone. But not you. You wondered all your life why that Dalek spared you. I think it knew. Your death is fixed in time forever. And that's right. Now let me go."

Comprehension dawned in her eyes. Without a word she let the door leading outside open. It seemed to take forever to return to the TARDIS. When I got inside I took my helmet off and stood behind the door, deep in thought. Guilt and the weight of my not being able to do anything was starting to overwhelm my soul and my mind. Walking past the controls, my feet dragged me down one of the corridors. I had no idea where I was going. Until I looked up when I entered a room.

He entered the weapon room. His eyes were filled with sorrow. I did not like where this was going. His hand hovered over an array of knives and guns from various planets. Then he picked up a simple hand gun from Earth. I couldn't bear to look from where I was. It was like watching a horror movie. Because of what I did, I decided to stay unseen.

He looked at the gun contemplatively. "Just because Carmen said that someone will knock four times before I die, doesn't mean that fate can't change it's mind. Not all prophecies are set in stone. Sometimes they can be wrong."

With his finger not on the trigger, he put it to the side of his head. Then he lowered it. He looked around wildly, presumably for the bullets.

"It doesn't have to be this way." My voice echoed through the room.

He paused, confused. I repeated myself, and then his eyes went wide. At first he looked hopeful, then he looked sad again.

It was Rose's voice. Obviously my subconscious decided to use a voice that will get me to listen. Then like a punch in the gut, echoes from past conversations flooded my mind. And then it hit me. Not everyone has to die. I am not just a Time Lord, I am the last one and there is no one around to make the rules. _I _can make the rules. _I_ can decide who lives.

Determined, I stormed out of the weapon room and toward the console room, starting to press buttons and pull levers. I was going to save Adelaide, and whoever hasn't been touched by the water.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N So I might have lied about the previous chapter being the last chapter. I edited chapter 6 a bit and added this one and filled it with nice stuff. This is definitely the last chapter though, no more no less. Please enjoy and review :)**

**Chapter 7:**

My thick brain couldn't come up with a logical explanation for anything that just transpired. One moment I was about to go and save the humans that were on Mars regardless of the fact that they are a fixed point in time; then Rose shows up out of thin air, literally, with the Vortex flowing through her stops me. Then in a flood of confusion and emotional distress I start shouting at her and the next thing I knew we were kissing. On the lips. So much has happened in a short range of time that my brain still hasn't processed the fact that I was still kissing Rose. It was like the part of my brain that does all the thinking, which is all of my brain, shut down and instinct took over. My arms acted like boa constrictors around her waist, trying to pull her as close to me as possible. Enveloping her very essence. I didn't want to stop. Her lips were succulent like a ripe strawberry. She was more intoxicating than alcohol. This was better than I ever dreamed. And dream of kissing her I often did. Those dreams never did her justice though.

I was getting so caught up in the moment that I didn't even notice that my hands were going up her blouse. At which point she gently pushed me back, causing me to frown from the lack of contact.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves, Doctor." Her face was flushed from the kissing, but her eyes had suddenly gone serious.

"You were the one that was getting impatient!" I pouted.

She rolled her eyes, but smiled warmly. "And you were getting carried away." Then her smile went away. "That was partly because I have been waiting to do that for several weeks since I have been on here. And partly because you were probably not thinking clearly. I did it all entirely because you needed me."

The euphoria was starting to wane and my thought process regained normalcy. I nodded in understanding. _Where does that leave us? What do I do? Do I let her stay or do I take her to Earth? Couldn't possibly go back to the parallel world, that got sealed off. I don't want to lose her again, but this could be completely altering my time line. Then again time is wibbly wobbly. Anything that is supposed to happen can happen some other time, right? _I looked at Rose. She had all the answers. She was the answer to me. Then I knew what I had to do.

"Wait here one moment." I ordered as I dashed off down a corridor.

I watched him run down a hallway. _What am I ever going to do with him. He seems excited about something. _I still couldn't believe that my plan worked. My Doctor is safe. At least for now. The Oncoming Storm tried to show up, but I stopped him. That decides it then. Even if he kicks me out of his ship, I will not leave. No matter what. I said forever all that time ago and I still mean forever. He needs me to be his constant companion. There is no way of knowing whether or not The Doctor will go sour again. And I want to be here with him through it all. He is _my_ Doctor. He needs _me_. Whether or not he wants to admit it. Not that he ever will. He may be the most talkative person in all of time and space, but he is not the most expressive. At least when it comes to love. When we kissed just now that was the first time I felt such passion from him. Passion for me. As much as I didn't want it to stop, I had to stop it. We need to take this slowly. It's been a long time since he has seen me. He was probably just getting excited because he missed me. Right?

As I was mulling this over, The Doctor ran back into the room and started pressing buttons and setting coordinates. He was grinning ear to ear and his eyes were full of mischief. _Back to Earth it seems. Time for me to put my foot down._

"You can try to bring me back to Earth all you want, but I am not going to go willingly. After the trouble you almost got into earlier, I came to the decision that you are not to be left to travel alone, no matter what. I don't care what you say, I am staying. And if you don't like that, well tough." I put my hands on my hips and waited for his response.

He gave me a funny look before resuming his tinkering with the controls. "Rose, I don't know how I should put this, but things can't stay the way they are anymore. All because of your presence. You changed time. I am supposed to die soon. It was predicted twice, first by an Ood and then by a human on a bus. Now that has all changed because you are here. I don't know whether to be grateful or cross with you."

I stood my ground. "You are going to be cross with me for saving your bloody life? I risked everything to come over into this world to save you! And this is the thanks I get? I don't care, I am not leaving you again, no matter what you say."

The Doctor didn't say anything for a little while, until the TARDIS landed with no problem. I stood there with my arms crossed, not wanting to leave the good ship. There was no way I was staying on Earth while The Doctor goes gallivanting everywhere and risking his life by himself. I just won't allow it.

He went to the doors and opened it a tiny bit to peek outside. With a big smile on his face he turned to look at me. "Well what are you standing there for? Allons-y!" And he left the ship.

I followed reluctantly. My jaw dropped when I stepped outside. There were no words that could describe this landscape. It was definitely not Earth. Though it looked Earthy. Bright colored alien birds either in flight or on the branch of a tree. The sky was a purplish pink with splotches of blue sky. There were flowers varying in size and colors. There was only one constant with them, they were all roses. Any irritation toward my Doctor was forgotten as I absorbed everything. It was so beautiful that I didn't dare take another step or breathe.

"ROSE! Where are you? I want to show you something!" The Doctor shouted somewhere in the distance.

That got me moving. I started running in the direction of his voice, careful to avoid trampling any roses. When I finally found him, he was standing on the bank of a pink lake. There was a checkered blanket, a basket, and a candelabra with a bright yellow flame in front of him. My heart was fluttering so fast that I swear he could hear it. The expression on his face was so warm and a bit of something else mixed with his suddenly wearing a tux made my brain turn to mush. Almost as if I was in a trance, without a word I walked over to him.

"There you are! For a second there I thought you wouldn't come. Please, have a seat. The TARDIS made us dinner. It was very nice of her to do it on such a short notice." He rambled excitedly, sitting down once I reached the picnic.

All I could do was nod and sit down across from him. _We haven't even been here ten minutes and he was able to change his outfit completely and procure a picnic that apparently the TARDIS supplied. How did he pull that off? None of this makes sense? What's his game? Is he going to get me happily drunk then bring me to Earth and leave me behind?_ I looked at him warily.

He reached into the basket and pulled out a bottle of red wine and glasses. Then he grabbed two plates and pulled out a dish of spaghetti and meatballs. _Basket from the TARDIS, bigger on the inside._ My mind reasoned. That was the only bit of logic I could apply to this scenario. I still had no idea what was going on. We were just having a fight in the time machine after all.

He tried to start a conversation a few times, but I was still a little bit skeptical about all of this. I didn't touch much of the wine, but the food was amazing. So I let my mind focus on that. He finally got the hint and remained silent.

"That's it. Why are you being like this?" He demanded.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Being like what? I am certain that you are just trying to blind me with all of this so I will forget about my not wanting to leave you. As soon as this is all over you are probably going to bring me to Earth and leave me behind like you did with Sarah. I won't have any of that. I won't go, not that easily."

Then he raised his eyebrow. Suddenly I could feel my resolve weakening, just because of the way he was looking at me. I tried to hold his gaze, but I could feel my cheeks getting redder and redder the longer I held it, so I opted to look at the flush colored lake.

"Now that your side of the story is out. Do you mind if I tell you my side? Because you are wrong on all accounts. Except for that last bit." His voice was like the softest silk.

Against my own will, my eyes resumed ogling the man that I had been in love with since the night of the living dummies. The truth is I didn't want to stay mad at him, but given the possibility that he might send me away again was too unbearable.

I opened my mouth to say something, but he cut me off, "I brought you here not to trick you and make you go back to your home planet. Because that planet is no longer going to be your home. At least I hope it won't be. I brought you here because I wanted to celebrate. Celebrate our reunion. I designed this planet several years ago, in case you ever came back. It was out of blind hope. Honestly, I didn't think you would. But my hearts, they... well it doesn't matter what I thought or hoped then, because you are here now. Everything you see around you, had you in mind." He reached into his pocket and pulled something out of it. "I never had any intentions of bringing you to Earth. Unless of course you want to. I have no intention of letting you leave me. Not again. Life is not worth living without you by my side, Rose Tyler. And that is why I am asking you to marry me." He concluded by procuring a small velvet box, with a diamond ring inside.

I was completely speechless. I did not see this coming. All I could do was stand up, walk over to his side of the blanket, got on my knees, grabbed his lapels and put my lips on his. This was the marking of a brand new beginning.


End file.
